ABSTRACT
Calcium phosphate ceramics adhere strongly to bone, connective tissue, and epithelial tissue, can be made biostable or biodegradable by controlling porosities and ß-whitlockite content, and are weak in fatigue behavior. With calcium phosphate implants, infection has hardly been found. However, it cannot be excluded that large, porous calcium phosphate implants may allow infection to build up in the central bulk part, similar to those found by large implants of other materials, such as Proplast. The success of permucosal dental implants and ventilating tubes in ENT surgery suggest that calcium phosphate ceramics may succeed as percutaneous implants as well. The drug can be stored in porous implants, either alone or mixed with an extender. After implantation the release rate of the drug is controlled by the degradation rate of the degradable porous implant or by a diffusion process.
